Discovery Charter School v. School District of Philadelphia

166 A.3d 304
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Discovery Charter School v. School District of Philadelphia. Read the opinion of the Court — 2017 Pa. LEXIS 1877
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania·Decided August 8, 2017·No. No. 16 EAP 2016·Published

Opinion

OPINION

JUSTICE BAER

This appeal requires us to examine the Charter School Law (“CSL”)1 to determine the propriety of the charter amendment procedure adopted by the Commonwealth Court. We must also determine whether the Charter School Appeal Board (“CAB”) has jurisdiction over a school district’s failure to act on a charter school’s request to amend its charter to increase maximum student enrollment. Upon review of the CSL, we conclude that the statute does not set forth a procedure for amending the material terms of a charter or a standard for evaluating an amendment request, and the Commonwealth Court erred in creating the same. We further hold that the CSL does not provide for jurisdiction in the CAB for appeals from a school district’s action or inaction on a requested charter amendment. Absent legislative directive, we decline to expand the CSL to address these omissions and, instead, adhere to the statutory framework created by the General Assembly. Accordingly, we vacate the Commonwealth Court’s order remanding the matter to the CAB for review of the charter school’s amendment request. Our decision does not preclude a charter school from increasing its maximum student enrollment by written agreement of all parties to the charter, as provided in the charter itself, or by obtaining a new charter with an increased maximum student enrollment after satisfying the statutory requisites for such action.

I. Background

Appellant Philadelphia School District (“District”) is a school district of the first class that has been declared in distress under Section 691 of the Public School Code (“Code”), 24 P.S. § 6-691 (relating to a declaration of distress by the Secretary of Education). Pursuant to Section 696(a) of the Code (pertaining to the formation of a school reform commission for distressed school districts of the first class), the District is governed by Appellant School Reform Commission (“SRC”), which is a five-member instrumentality of the first class school district that exercises the powers of the school board. Appellee Discovery Charter School (“Discovery”) operates a charter school within the boundaries of the District under a five-year charter granted in 2003 and renewed in 2008, ending on June 30, 2013.

The charter provides that Discovery “may enroll students in grades K through 8 with a maximum of 620 students.” Charter for Discovery Charter School (“Charter”), April 16, 2008, Art. VT(A); Reproduced Record (“R.R.”) at 1408a. The Charter states that Discovery “acknowledges and agrees that neither the School District nor the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall have any obligation whatsoever to provide any funding in excess of the amount derived from the enrollment limits set forth in this Charter.” Id., Art. VI(B)(5); R.R. at 1408a.

The Charter further provides that Discovery shall operate its school only at 5070 Parkside Avenue, Philadelphia, that it shall not relocate the school to a different facility “without giving notice thereof to the [307] School District not less than sixty (60) days before the proposed ... relocation,” and that if the relocation “constitutes a material change,” it shall not relocate “without the prior written consent of the School District, which consent the School District shall not unreasonably withhold, condition or delay.” Charter, Art. IV(L); R.R. at 1406a. Finally, germane to this appeal, the Charter states “[t]his Charter may.not be amended, modified, supplemented or changed in any respect except by written agreement duly executed and signed by all Parties to this Charter.” Id. at Art. XVII(J); R.R. at 1423a.

Because Discovery’s enrollment applications far exceeded its maximum enrollment cap of 620 students, the charter school filed a request to amend its charter to gradually increase maximum enrollment to 1,050 students over a four-year period, amounting to a seventy percent increase in enrollment. Discovery also acquired land located three blocks from its Parkside Avenue address and began constructing a new building capable of accommodating more students, intending to relocate to that facility for the 2013-14 school year. In December of 2012, Discovery applied to renew its charter for a third five-year term and notified the District of its plans to move to the new facility.

In May of 2013, the District’s Office of Charter Schools recommended that Discovery be granted a third five-year charter, finding no deficiencies in the school’s academic performance and rating Discovery as acceptable with minor deficiencies in its organizational and financial health. Accordingly, on May 20, 2013, the District sent Discovery a draft charter agreement, which contained the existing Parkside Avenue address and the existing 620-student cap as set forth in the 2008 charter. Because the agreement did not permit an enrollment increase, Discovery refused to sign it, citing the CSL’s provision prohibiting a school district from unilaterally imposing a maximum student enrollment cap. See 24 P.S. § 17-1723-A(d)(l) (providing that “[e]nrollment of students in a charter school ... shall not be subject to a cap or otherwise limited ... unless agreed to by the charter school ... as part of a written charter pursuant to section 1720-A.”).2

Because Discovery did not agree to the enrollment cap contained in the draft charter agreement, the SRC did not act on Discovery’s renewal or amendment requests. Discovery continued to operate thereafter, albeit without a signed charter. On July 15, 2013, the District informed Discovery that the SRC would not vote on an enrollment increase for any charter school for the 2013-14 school year. In October 2013, the District sent Discovery correspondence indicating that Discovery was in violation of Section 1720-A of the CSL because it lacked a signed charter, see 24 P.S. § 17-1720-A (providing, inter alia, that a signed charter “shall act as legal authorization for the establishment of a charter school”), and that the failure to sign the charter that included the SRC’s authorized enrollment cap of 620 students would constitute grounds for suspension, nonrenewal or revocation of the Charter. Notwithstanding Discovery’s failure to sign the Charter, the SRC has taken no action to suspend or revoke the Charter.

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Discovery Charter School v. School District of Philadelphia, 166 A.3d 304 (Pa. 2017).

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